The new law, which goes into effect on Friday, is an apparent
attempt to curtail flag purchases from China, which spiked
following the demand generated by the September 11, 2001
terrorist attacks in New York.

The new policy first passed last month as part of the $1.1
trillion omnibus appropriations bill, which funded the government
through September 30, but the flag stipulation officially became
law on Friday.

American flags have always been produced inside the US, but
businesses have saved significant amounts of money by ordering
them from China – a trend that became especially popular when the
demand for flags increased after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Representative Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), who is running for a
ninth term in Congress, said Friday that he was surprised the
policy was not already a law.

“I thought it was appalling our Department of Defense would
have flags made in other countries,” he said. “But it’s
also important because we need to be making more in
America.”

The new law is an update to the Berry Amendment of 1941. That
amendment forbids the Defense Department from purchasing food,
clothing, military uniforms, fabric, stainless steel, and hand or
measuring tools produced outside the US other than in
extraordinary conditions.

“American flags are something we all can agree should be made
in America,” Thompson said. “I am proud to have worked
to pass this law so that our men and women in uniform never have
to fight under a US flag made overseas, and so that our Defense
Department never again spends American tax dollars on a US flag
made overseas.”

US manufacturers simply could not keep up with the amount of
flags that needed to be produced during the surge of patriotism
following the 2001 attacks. The market for foreign-made flags was
valued at approximately $1 million per year before the World
Trade Center fell, but that figure jumped to a shocking $52
million as millions of people placed new flags on their vehicles
and outside their homes after 9/11.